Survey shows a millennial revolution

50% of millennials see themselves as independents when it comes to politics. (39% of those in Generation X said they were independents, 37% of boomers, 32% of the Silent Generation.) Only 27% of millennials said they consider themselves Democrats; 17 percent said Republican. "It's not that they don't have strong opinions, political opinions, they do," Taylor said. "It's simply that they choose not to identify themselves with either political party." When the self-identified Democratic millennials are combined with the self-described independents who lean Democratic, 50% of the millennials are Democrats or Democratic-leaning while 34% are Republicans or Republican-leaning.

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64% percent of the millennials say that they are not religious, "the highest for any age group we've ever measured," Taylor said. Only 36% of millennials said the phrase "a religious person" described them very well, compared with 52% of Gen Xers, 55% of baby boomers and 61% of the Silent Generation.

26% of the millennial adults are married. When they were the same age, 36% of the Gen Xers, 48% of baby boomers and 65% of the Silent Generation were married. (The report notes millennials lead all generations in the share of out-of-wedlock births. In 2012, 47% of births to women in the millennial generation were non-marital, compared with 21% among older women.)

53% of millennials say the government should give higher priority to programs that benefit the young, compared with 36% of Gen Xers and just 28% each of boomers and Silents.

68% of millennials favor allowing gay marriage, compared with 55% of Gen Xers, 48% of boomers and 38% of the Silent Generation.